Jul 5, 2010

Book Review: A Twist of Orchids by Michelle Wan

Teaser Tuesdays, hosted by MizB, asks you to choose two sentences at random from your current read. Identify the author and title for readers.


"I'm only orchid-crazy a small part of the year, you know," he said earnestly." The rest of the time I'm a normal, everyday sort of bloke. Please believe me."

A Twist of Orchids: A Death in the Dordogne Mystery by Michelle Wan

Location and background info: Mara Dunn of Montreal is an interior decorator and her British partner Julian Wood is a landscaper and orchid collector. Things are testy between the two because of Julian's obsession with finding a rare, possibly non-existent orchid in the mountains of the Dordogne, France, where they live. They become sleuths when strange things begin to happen in the town where they live - a mysterious death of an elderly woman, the disappearance and death of a young man, and the haunting of a widower with Parkinson's disease who swears he has mysterious nighttime visitors. However, Mara and Julian don't necessarily work well together all the time.

My comments: Apart from the constant bickering between the two lovers, the plot was enjoyable and original, having all the loose ends tie together nicely and conveniently at the end of the book.  But that's one reason I love mysteries - all is solved and resolved in the end and the bad guys get their just rewards. I loved the setting and the description of the  forests in the Dordogne.

Rating: I would rate this a 4 1/2 out of 5 for plot, characterization, and writing.

Here is an interview on YouTube with Michelle Wan, who says her book is about "sleeplessness, murder, and a sprinkling of orchids."

Title: A Twist of Orchids: A Death in the Dordogne Mystery
Author: Michelle Wan
Hardcover: 336 pages
Publisher: Minotaur Books; First Edition edition (April 13, 2010)
Genre: Mystery Series

Book Review Party Wednesday

26 comments:

  1. I love the cover, the teaser and the fact that it is a mystery. Will go amazon to see more. Thanks for sharing

    My TT

    http://teawithmarce.blogspot.com/2010/07/teaser-tuesday-note-from-old.html

    ReplyDelete
  2. What an interesting teaser. I have not heard of this book but will look into it. My TT: http://www.rundpinne.com/2010/07/teaser-tuesdays-31-bond-street.html

    ReplyDelete
  3. Bloke? Aussie? Hehe.

    Nice teaser. Orchid-crazy, eh? Hmm, interesting. I'll have to check this book out.

    Check out my teasers: http://wordsonpaperya.blogspot.com/2010/07/teaser-tuesday-2.html

    ReplyDelete
  4. I was drawn to this by its title!

    ReplyDelete
  5. What a unique story! Sounds interesting...

    Here's mine:

    http://snowconnections.wordpress.com/2010/07/06/teaser-tuesdays-5/

    ReplyDelete
  6. Ooh, this sounds like a good read. Love the cover and I'm putting it on the list. Here's my Teaser
    Have a great week and happy reading!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I like a mystery too. This one sounds good. My teaser is from Blood Song by Cat Adams.

    ReplyDelete
  8. He sounds sweet! Here's my teaser from Lover Eternal.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Great teaser. I love the cover. My teaser is at The Crowded Leaf.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Love, love your Teaser. I can tell you love flowers too.

    http://readwithtea.blogspot.com/2010/07/tuesday-teaser-july06-2010.html

    ReplyDelete
  11. Great teaser, this sounds like an interesting read. I haven't heard of this author before.

    My TT is here

    ReplyDelete
  12. Unsure if your comments are showing, trying again, I know I did this last night because I add Orchids to my Wishlist.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Interesting!

    http://fredasvoice.blogspot.com/2010/07/teaser.html

    ReplyDelete
  14. I think we all have periods of going overboard with one thing or another.

    The book looks interesting!

    ReplyDelete
  15. intriguing teaser today--is it a bit of a romantic book as well?

    ReplyDelete
  16. Sounds great. I'm putting it on my wish list - might be a good vacation read. Love the teaser!

    TT: Noah’s Compass

    ReplyDelete
  17. Opps! This is why I LOVE my editor. *your

    ReplyDelete
  18. That's an interesting teaser!

    My teaser is here.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Thanks for the comments everyone though my main page posts 0 comments. I see from other bloggers that the comments section isn't working.

    Kaye: There is a bit of romance in the book, but it's mostly wrangling and then a kiss and make up at the suspenseful end of the book.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Interesting teaser -- the orchids definitely make me curious. :) My teaser's
    here

    ReplyDelete
  21. Sounds really interesting, and I love the cover! I hadn't heard of this one before, but I'll have to check it out.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Great teaser! I hadn't heard of this book. You can find my TT here

    ReplyDelete
  23. I love the cover and this book sounds really interesting. Something a little bit out of the norm.

    ReplyDelete
  24. The word "orchids" did it for me. Now I'll go back and read the synopsis. Pretty sure I would love this one.

    ReplyDelete
  25. I've heard of Dordogne. I'll bet the setting is beautiful.

    ReplyDelete

I appreciate your comments and thoughts...

Three Novels: Japanese Mystery; Family Drama; Ecuadorian

  Books in the mail The Night of Baba Yaga  by Akira Otani (translated from the Japanese). July 2, 2024, Soho Crime This is an unusual novel...